by Caryna St. John

Created on: June 02, 2009

How does a person with social phobia feel?

Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, is the fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment, scrutiny, judgment or evaluation are possible. People who suffer with social phobia experience a host of anxiety symptoms when they are in these situations. These symptoms fall into four general categories: cognitive, behavioral, physical, and affective.

Cognitive symptoms of social phobia

The cognitive symptoms of social phobia are the thoughts that people with this problem have. People who are fearful in social and performance situations may think such things as "Everyone thinks I'm boring" or "People must notice how anxious I am". Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the primary treatment methods for social phobia. The goal of CBT is to change these negative patterns of thinking. Often these negative thoughts are the result of a core negative belief about yourself, for example "I am not worthy of having friends".

Behavioral symptoms of social phobia

The behavioral symptoms of social phobia are those things that people do, or don't do, when they have this problem. Most commonly, people with social phobia will avoid situations that cause them anxiety. This avoidance may be obvious, such as walking out in the middle of delivering a speech, or less obvious, such as spacing out during a conversation or a party. In each case, the person with social phobia seeks to relieve the anxiety that they feel by "escaping" from the situation.

Physical symptoms of social phobia

The physical symptoms of social phobia are probably the ones that most people think of when the topic of social anxiety comes up. These symptoms are such things as blushing, sweating, shaking, a racing heart, shortness of breath, and nausea. The irony is that often, people with social phobia are most fearful of others noticing the physical anxiety symptoms that they have.

Affective symptoms of social phobia

The affective symptoms of social phobia are the feelings and emotions experienced by a person with this disorder. Often people who are socially anxious will also feel hopeless and depressed. If social phobia is not treated promptly, often secondary depression can develop. The combination of social phobia and depression can leave a person feeling isolated and without hope. Often this is a recipe for disaster.

How exactly then does a person with social phobia feel? If you suffer with social phobia you feel anxious and nervous when you are in situations in which you feel you are under scrutiny. You worry constantly about upcoming events and when you are in those situations you can't control your physical symptoms of anxiety. After a social or performance situation you probably relive in your mind everything that you think went wrong. In general, you live life with a lot of fear and dread.

Social phobia is not well understood by those who have never experienced it. It is a recognized mental disorder that with proper treatment has a very good prognosis. If you believe that you are experiencing symptoms of social phobia it is important to seek help. The longer you let yourself go without seeking help for anxiety, the less time you have left to begin enjoying your life and really living.

Reference:

About.com. Symptoms of social anxiety disorder.

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